The early start to yesterday's fishing (up at 5:30, trying to pry the wife out of bed at 6, then rushing to meet Gordie at the docks by 7:15) coupled with the apr?s-fish once we got back home pretty much ended any possibility for me both to log on and to communicate correctly.

At any rate ...

We had the expected great time with Gordie yesterday. We plied -- maybe plowed would be a better verb; it wasn't real smooth out there in the Gulf in the morning -- the nearshore waters close to Destin, hunting for redfish, bonito, king mackerel and blackfin tuna. The funky weather played havoc with us, though, giving us bright sunshine, dark clouds, wind and rain -- all within seconds of one another. Very strange, and apparently confounding the fish and their feeding activities. But, we managed to connect to some extremely feisty bonito (little tunny) which gave me a nice series of abdomen bruises from trying to horse them in (being the gentleman I am, I allowed the wife to wear my fighting belt ... although I did try to sneak it back a few times).

By mid-morning, the dark clouds started to look angrier and the seas began to rock a little too much even for Gordie's liking, so we scuttled to some calmer waters east of our location. Unfortunately, the fish didn't follow us. Gordie uttered the quote of the day, "I almost called you yesterday to see if you wanted to go out in the afternoon when it was calm ... "

By the late morning, we were back in the bay, battling a stiff wind that had shifted almost 180 degrees since we launched. This kicked up the waves, but we still had a great time fishing for jacks and redfish.

All in all, it was a fun day to be out and about, and most of the reason for that was Gordie. Even on a less than stellar fishing day (due to weather and tide conditions; not due to the fault of the captain and his capable and willing customers), he provided constant entertainment, making for a relaxing and enjoyable trip.

Unfortunately, we're now on the tail-end of our two-week stay in Seagrove. I'm absolutely dreading the drive home, as it's seven-and-a-half hours of slowly decompressing back to reality. Plus, I think it's about 20 degrees cooler at home than here (even after the cold front chilled the beaches last night). Work awaits on Monday, but there's not much I can do about it except enjoy the heck out of the next two days. It's another beautiful day in SoWal, so what else can you do but relax and go with the flow ...

Work awaits on Monday, but there's not much I can do about it except enjoy the heck out of the next two days. It's another beautiful day in SoWal, so what else can you do but relax and go with the flow ...

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:clap_1: Sounds like you've "enjoyed the heck out of" your whole time at the beach! Thanks for sharing with us.

(being the gentleman I am, I allowed the wife to wear my fighting belt ... although I did try to sneak it back a few times).

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Thanks for the report! I bought one of those belts and I have lost more fish because of it. Whenever I'd hook into something big, I'd lose the fish while trying to the the rod in the dang thing. I always wind up coming home with a big black bruise under the belt line.

I know I don't get there often enough,
but God knows I surely try
It's a magic kind of medicine,
that no doctor could prescribe.